A compendious body of chymistry, which will serve as a guide and introduction both for understanding the authors which have treated of the theory of this science in general: and for making the way plain and easie to perform, according to art and method, all operations, which teach the practise of this art, upon animals, vegetables, and minerals, without losing any of the essential vertues contained in them. By N. le Fèbure apothecary in ordinary, and chymical distiller to the King of France, and at present to his Majesty of Great-Britain.

How the Spirit of Juicy Plants, possessed with an Essential Volatile Salt, is to be Extracted.

AFter we have given all the necessary observations to work upon Plants of this nature, we must end our discourse or treaty thereof, by the manner of well extracting their Volatile Spirit by the help of Fermentation; which is thus performed.

B••; as much as you shall think fitting of one of these Plants, and cleanse it from all its earthliness and impurities, bruise it in a Marble, Stone, or Wooden Mortar, and immediately put it in a great Glass Receiver, commonly called a great Ballon by the French Artists, and pour water upon it, between luke-warm and boyling, which by the Cooks is called Scalding-water, the height of ½ foot, then stop the neck of your Receiver with a blind-head (or Vaisse au de Rencontre;) and thus let it rest about two hours: after which, new water less then luke-warm, and only simpering must be added, to temperate the heat of the first, untill the finger being put in can, scarce perceive the heat, and that is the degree which the most expert in the Practice and Theory of Chymistry, use to call Natural or Human Heat, and the true point or instant of Fermentation. Herein the Chymical Artist needs properly his nicest judgement, to take the true nick of time of this soft and amicable heat, because if this degree of heat doth exceed, it volatilizes too sud∣denly, the Spirit and subtile parts of the Plants upon which he doth work; which, notwithstanding all care and precaution, easily vapours and vanishes away, for all is converted afterwards into an unpleasant acidity, which contains no more of the Volatile Spirit: And if this heat, on the other side, is less than it ought to be, it doth not sufficiently help the Leaven or Ferment, to

dissolve and divide the most solid parts of the Plant, which con∣tain yet in themselves a Centrical Salt, contributing very much to the perfection of the Spirit which is to be extracted out of the Plant; and moreover helps not a little to disunite the viscosi∣ty of the Juyce of the Plant, which contains in it self the prin∣cipal portion of the Essential Volatile Salt, which affords the Spirit; nevertheless, it is safer to fail in the defect then in the excess. Things being put in this temper, Take Barm, or Beer-yest, if you are in a convenient place to recover it; if not, raise Flower dissolved in Water something less then luke-warm, with about lb ss. of Leaven or Ferment commonly used every where for Dow in the making of Bread: and when the Liquor is sufficient∣ly raised and puft, and the flower hath got on the top of the Liquor, heed must be had when the top of the Flower begins to crack, for it is a token that the Fermenting Spirit is sufficiently excited, to be reduced from power into act, and to be introdu∣ced in the matter, ready to be fermented: but you must note, that your Vessel is not to be more then half filled, otherwise all will run out and fly away, by reason of the action of the Fer∣ment, which by an internal motion agitates and elevates the matters, and in which motion doth consist the power both of Nature and Art. This first Heat of Ebullition being past, the Artist must suffer the Ferment to act softly and by degrees, untill he perceives that all that Crust which the Fermenting Spirit had raised up, and framed out of the most corporeal and material substance, to be as a Wall or Defence against the evasion or evaporation of the acting Spirits, begins of it self to subside, and precipitate it self, because it is no longer supported by the activity of the Spirits; this most commonly doth happen at the end of two or three dayes in Summer, and four or five in Winter. Here again must the Artist be very carefull to take his time, for as soon as this sign begins to appear, he must distill his fermen∣ted matter, unless by his own sloth and neglect, he will lose what Art and Nature had prepared to his hand; for, at that time this Fermented Spirit easily vanishes, and what remains is no more then an acid, useless and unprofitable Liquor. But when the Artist taking opportunely his time, shall have put his fermented matter in the brass Vessel or Body, covered with its

Moor's-head, or Still, exactly luted the Joints, as much of the Head as the Pipe, taken care that the Water of the Refrige∣ratory, to condense the raising Vapours, be kept cool and fresh, given the fire by competent degrees, untill the drops begin to fall and follow one the other pretty thick, and having attained this degree, closed the Registers of the Furnace, and stopt ex∣actly the dore of the Furnace, to keep the Fire in that temper; he shall obtain by these means a Volatile Spirit, very subtile and efficacious; and must not cease the fire, untill he hath found out by the taste, that the Liquor stilling down be insipid, which is the true sign upon which he must cease his Operation. If he will rectifie this Spirit, he must distill it again in B. M. But in case he hath proceeded by the method we have described, there shall be no need of rectification, because he can separate imme∣diately in the Operation, the first Spirit from the second, and the second from the third, which shall differ accordingly in de∣grees of vertue and subtility, because they have more or less of mixture of phlegm.

The vertues of this Spirit are wonderfull in all Diseases which have their seat, and are rooted in fixt, crude, and tartarous matters, which he dissolves and volatilizes powerfully: But above all, the Spirit of Spoonwort, as also its Volatile Salt extracted of its Juice, as also the Juice of all Nitro-tartareous Plants: for, these are the two most powerfull remedies which learned men have found against scorbutical Diseases raigning in Maritime Coun∣treyes, and whereof very few can preserve themselves in long Sea-voyages. And though these diseases be almost unknown in the Climes of France, yet for the most part such are evil Rheu∣matisms proceeding from the alteration of the mass of the blood, whose whole Substance is vitiated, and degenerated in a gross and malignant serosity, whose venemous quality im∣printed in the membranous and nervous parts, causes weariness, running pains, swellings, and spots in the skin, which are all symptoms and tokens of the Scurvey,; and therefore, as these diseases can only be terminated by Diaphoreticks and Diureticks, recourse must be had to the Spirits and volatile Salts of Anti∣scorbutical Plants, whereof we have spoken but a little before. The Dosis of the Spirit is from vi. drops to xx. in broth, or ordi∣nary

drink of the Patient; that of the volatile Salt, is also from v. to xv. or xx. grains in the same liquors, or is yet better, in the water of the same Plant.

There will be no need of making any great discourse by it self, whereby to give to understand how the little Centaury, Wormwood, Rhue, Penny-royal, Balm, Mint, Flowers of lime-tree, and other Plants of this nature; which in themselves have no moisture when they are possessed with their vertue, and fit to be used, are to be gathered. They are only to be grosly bruised in a Mortar after they are cut, and you have added to each lb of the Plant (which you purpose to ferment and distil thereby, to extract the Spirit) x lb of water, as we have already related above, observing all the notes and hints also given, which are essentially necessary to the true ordering of fermentation. But in case you purpose only in your distillation to extract hereby the aetherial Oyl, and spirituous Water of the Plant, you must only distil the same Plant without any previous infusion, macera∣tion, and much less fermentation, being shred very small, putting to each lb of plant x lb of Water.

There is yet notwithstanding a way to preserve Plants of this nature, and even the Flowers themselves, and cause them to fer∣ment without any other addition of mixture: And herein also is the Artist to take great heed, and to be very circumspect: for, unless you will lose time and labour, not one of the circumstances which we shall now relate, is to be omitted. Proceed then as it followeth; Gather the Plant or Flower when they are in their per∣fection; to this purpose must the Plant be in a state between Flow∣er and Seed; and if it bears no Seed, or be only a Flower, it must be in the height of its smell, and the leaves must firmly hold to their stalks: But the principal Note besides, is, the time of gathering, which is, to gather these things a little after the rising of the Sun, that the dew may not be upon them, which would cause corruption; they must not also be gathered after a rainy-day, or the day before, whereby they might have contracted superfluous moisture, which would cause the same accident. Having these Plants thus conditionated, you must fill great Pots or Vessels of Jugge-metal therewith, well cleansed and dryed, and thrust them in very hard; leaving no empty space, but only so much as will

serve to put astopple of Cork very well fitted to the place, & steept in melted Wax; this done, pour upon the stopple, black melted Pitch, and besmear all round about the mouth of the Vessel, then put it in a Cellar upon Boards, that the Earth may not impart it to much coolness, and the Plant or Flower may not thereby be altered; and so shall you for whole years preserve Plants and Flowers, which shall be fermented by themselves, and will be ready for distillation at all times that there will be any need of it; adding only lb x. of Water to every lb of Flowers or Plants so fermented by themselves, and you shall extract a Water and a Spirit which shall really be endowed and impregnated with the odour, and all the vertues of the Plant, as we have our selves exemplified upon Plants so digested and fermented in them∣selves and by themselves, by order of Mr. Vallot, first Physitian to the King of France; who hath ever ordained those ocular de∣monstrations to be made in the eyes of the publick; that the ver∣tue of things, and the noblest way of distilling them may be made known, and that it may be truly confessed from hence∣forth, that this noble and learned way of operation owes its inven∣tion to him.

We have nothing else at present, to say, touching the general rules and common observations which the Artist is to make upon the Vegetable in general, and its parts in particular, but that we must impart the way of extracting the Liquors from the whole Plants, or their parts, and exalt them more and more, until they are arrived to the nature of their first being, which will eminently possess all the central vertues of their Mixt, because Art and Nature have preserved in this operation all the seminal powers with which it was endowed, as our great and illustrious Paracelsus doth most learnedly explain in a Treatise, which he intitles, De Renovatione & Restauratione.